Abstract
Post-secondary higher education in the United States continues to be the key to opening doors to credential and degree attainment, and meaningful employment. Community colleges, in particular, have served as open-door institutions, as the Ellis Islands of America’s higher education system for decades providing access for all to a better quality of life. The evolution of the post-secondary higher education landscape is fuelled by workforce and career and technical education—the lynchpin to filling middle-wage and high skill, high-wage jobs. As the United States post-secondary higher education works to fill a nationally identified skills gap, technical colleges, community and state colleges, private colleges and public universities consistently evaluate their roles in meeting the country’s workforce needs and effectively building a twenty-first-century workforce.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s national emphasis on building America’s workforce is founded on how each state’s post-secondary higher education system trains and equips students for success. In order to meet the nation’s workforce demands, 65 per cent of jobs will require a credential or degree beyond high school next year, 2020. Short-term training programs that prepare students for a nationally industry recognized credential are fundamental to filling the skills gap. The manufacturing profession alone has yielded over one million new jobs in the past several years with approximately 390,000 yet to be filled.
This chapter will provide a framework that underscores the criticality of workforce and career and technical education across the US post-secondary higher education spectrum. The terms vocational, workforce, and career and technical education will be defined to shed light on the inconsistency of terminology and the variety of programs. The role of all sectors of US post-secondary higher education in advancing workforce and career and technical education will be detailed with special emphasis on the community college sector. Examples of successful programs will be interspersed throughout this chapter. The need for additional federal, state, and public-private partnership funding will be underscored.
This chapter will conclude with a call to action for post-secondary higher education policy makers and practitioners to more effectively align workforce and career and technical development programs. The elimination of duplication will set clearer workforce pathways, and more effectively generate additional external funding and resources. Also encouraged will be enhanced innovation in coloration with business and industry and K-12 systems to continue meeting employment needs. The time is now for America’s higher education system to level the international and national economic competitiveness playing field. The future is in our hands.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alamo Academies (2019) Home. https://alamoacademies.com/ (accessed 29 April 2020).
Alamo Colleges District (2020) Our district. https://www.alamo.edu/about-us/our-district/ (accessed 29 April 2020).
Bellwether College Consortium (2017) Past winners. https://bellwethercollegeconsortium.com/past-winners/ (accessed 29 April 2020).
Bennett, M. J. (1996) When Dreams Came True: The GI Bill and the Making of Modern America. McLean, VA: Brassey’s Inc.
Bilsky, J., Neuhard, I. and Locke, M. G. (2012) The evolution of workforce baccalaureate degrees in Florida, New Directions for Community Colleges, 2012(158):35–46.
Brandon, K (2009, 14 July) Investing in Education: The American Graduation Initiative. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/07/14/investing-education-american-graduation-initiative (accessed 29 April 2020)
Brock, W. E. (1993) An American imperative: Higher expectations for higher education. Racine, Wis: Johnson Foundation.
Carnevale, A. P., Cheah, B., Ridley, N. and Stroh, J. (2017) Good jobs that pay without a BA. https://goodjobsdata.org/wp-content/uploads/Good-Jobs-wo-BA.pdf (accessed 10 May 2020).
Clagett, M. G. (2006) Workforce development in the United States: An overview. National Center on Education and the Economy. http://skillscommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ACII_WIA_Summary.pdf (accessed 10 May 2020).
College Promise Campaign (2016) About us. http://www.collegepromise.org (accessed 29 April 2020).
Creative Alliance (n.d.) Level 2, 3 and 4 Apprenticeships … What’s the Difference? https://creativealliance.org.uk/what-learned-creative-digital-apprenticeships/ (accessed 12 May 2020).
Cuyahoga Community College (2014) About Tri-C. https://www.tri-c.edu/about/index.html (accessed 29 April 2020).
D’Amico, M. M. (2016) Community college workforce development in the student success era, in M. B. Paulsen (ed.) Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (31st ed.). Davos, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 217–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26829-3_5
D’Amico, M. M., Sublett, C. M., and Bartlett, J. E. II. (2019) Preparing the workforce in today’s community colleges: Issues and implications for higher education leaders. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/97795/PreparingWorkforceColleges.pdf?sequence=1 (accessed 10 May 2020).
European Union (2016) Comparative analysis of the Australian Qualifications Framework and the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning: Joint technical report. doi: 10.2767/899976
Florida Department of Education (2020) Division of Career and Adult Education. http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/(accessed 29 April 2020)
Florida Executive Order 19–31 (2019) Charting a course for Florida to become number 1 in the nation in workforce education by 2030 and ensuring Florida students are prepared for the jobs of the future. https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/EO-19-31.pdf (accessed 18 May 2020).
Floyd, D. L. (2005) Community college baccalaureate, in D. L. Floyd, M. L. Skolnik, and K. P. Walker (eds) The community college baccalaureate: Emerging trends & policy issues. Stylus: Sterling, pp. 25–48
Floyd, D. L. and Skolnik, M. L. (2019) The community college baccalaureate movement: evolutionary and revolutionary, in O’Banion (ed.) 13 Ideas that are transforming the community college world. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 103–127.
Floyd, D. L., Skolnik, M. L. and Walker, K. P. (2005) The community college baccalaureate: Emerging trends & policy issues. Stylus: Sterling.
Floyd, D. L., Garcia Falconetti, A. M. and Felsher, R. A. (2012) Applied and workforce baccalaureate models. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2012(158): 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20012
Floyd, D. L. and Falconetti, A. M. G. (2013) The baccalaureate movement in Florida, in N. Remington and R. Remington (eds) Alternative pathways to the baccalaureate: Do community colleges offer a viable solution to the nation’s knowledge deficit? Sterling, VA: Stylus, pp.85–108.
Fulton, M. (2015) Community colleges expanded role into awarding bachelor’s degrees. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED556034.pdf (accessed 10 May 2020)
Fulton, M. (2020) Community colleges expanded role into awarding bachelor’s degrees. https://www.ecs.org/community-college-bachelors-degrees-an-update-on-state-activity-and-policy-considerations/ (accessed 10 May 2020)
FUSE (2020) What is FUSE? https://www.usf.edu/undergrad/transfer-student-success/fuse/what-is-fuse/index.aspx (accessed 18 May 2020).
Gilbert, C. K. and Heller, D. E. (2013) Access, equity, and community colleges: The Truman Commission and federal higher education policy from 1947 to 2011, The Journal of Higher Education, 84(3): 417–443.
Gleazer, E. (1998) Values, vision, & vitality. Washington, DC: Community College Press.
Growe, R. and Montgomery, P. S. (2003) Educational equity in America: Is education the great equalizer? Professional Educator, 25(2): 23–29.
Haveman, R. and Smeeding, T. (2006) The role of higher education in social mobility. The Future of Children, 16(2): 125–150.
Jacobs, J. and Worth, J. (2019) The evolving mission of workforce development in the community college, in T. O’Banion (ed.) 13 Ideas that are transforming the community college world. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, pp.
Kalamazoo Promise (n.d.) The Kalamazoo Promise. https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/ (accessed 29 April 2020)
Lonsdale Institute (2018) The Australian Qualifications Framework explained. https://www.lonsdaleinstitute.edu.au/blog/australian-qualifications-framework-explained/ (accessed 12 May 2020).
Mishory, J. (2018, March) The Future of Statewide College Promise Programs. The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/report/future-statewide-college-promise-programs/ (accessed 29 April 2020).
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM] (2017) Building America’s skilled technical workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23472.
National Governor’s Association (2017) Workforce development and postsecondary education. https://www.nga.org/policy-communications/policy-positions/job-training-and-higher-education/ (accessed 10 May 2020).
O’Banion, T. (2019) A brief history of workforce education in community colleges, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 23(3): 216–223, https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1547668.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] (2012) Education at a Glance 2012: Highlights. Paris: OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/eag_highlights-2012-en
Perna, L. W. and Leigh, E. W. (2018) Understanding the promise: A typology of state and local college promise programs. Educational Researcher, 47(3): 155–180.
Perkins Collaborative Resource Center [PCRC] (n.d.) Perkins V. https://cte.ed.gov/legislation/perkins-v (accessed 29 April 2020).
Palm Beach State College (2020) Degrees & certificates. https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/career-pathways/all-pathways.aspx (accessed 12 May 2020).
Polk State College (2020) Advanced Manufacturing. https://www.polk.edu/corporate-college/advanced-manufacturing/ (accessed May 10 2020).
Roach, R. (2009) A new deal for higher education? Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 26(23): 12–14.
Roueche, J., Baker, G. A., III, Omahaoy, N. H. and Mullins, P. L. (1987) Access & Excellence. Washington, DC: The Community College Press.
The National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. https://www.edreform.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/A_Nation_At_Risk_1983.pdf (accessed 18 May 2020).
The Regional Educational Laboratory West (2016, August) The college promise in California: A collection of program files. https://californiacollegepromise.wested.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/REL_CollegePromise_Booklet_508.pdf (accessed 29 April 2020).
UK Department of Education (2020) Introduction of T Levels. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels (accessed 12 May 2020).
University of Central Florida (2020) Direct Connect to UCF. https://directconnect.ucf.edu/ (accessed 18 May 2020).
US Department of Education (2008) Organization of US Education. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-org-us.html (accessed 12 May 2020).
US Department of Education (2020a) Career and Technical Education. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html (accessed 29 April 2020).
US Department of Education (2020b) Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act. https://www.2ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/rsa/wioa-ruled.html (accessed 29 April 2020).
US Department of Education (2020c) CARES Act: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/caresact.html (accessed 18 May 2020).
US Department of Labor (n.d.) Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wioa/about (accessed 10 May 2020).
US Department of Labor (2018, 15 July) US Department of Labor announces Apprenticeship.gov to connect job seekers and employers. https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20180615 (accessed 29 April 2020).
White House (2015, January 20) Remarks by the President in State of the Union address. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/20/remarks-president-state-union-address-january-20-2015 (accessed 29 April 2020).
White House (2017) Presidential Executive Order Expanding Apprenticeships in America. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/3245/ (accessed 29 April 2020).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Floyd, D.L., Garcia Falconetti, A., Camacho, L. (2022). Post-secondary Higher Education Pathways to Workforce Credential Attainment in the United States of America. In: Knight, E., Bathmaker, AM., Moodie, G., Orr, K., Webb, S., Wheelahan, L. (eds) Equity and Access to High Skills through Higher Vocational Education. Palgrave Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84502-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84502-5_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-84501-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-84502-5
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)